Letters and Whatnots
by MissParasol
Summary: At age 14, Kudo Shinichi finds a letter in a glass bottle hidden up in a large oak tree. 2 weeks later, Kuroba Kaito receives a letter in his mailbox from a stranger, and he's the happiest that he could have ever been. Kaishin sort of AU
1. Chapter 1

Detective Conan & Magic Kaito

Title: Letters and Whatnots

Summary: At age 14, Kudo Shinichi finds a letter in a glass bottle hidden up in a large oak tree. 2 weeks later, Kuroba Kaito receives a letter in his mailbox from a stranger, and he's the happiest that he could have ever been.

Warnings: Kaishin and irregular updates yeah. Nothing much basically.

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><p>It was a gleam of silver that caught his attention; way too bright to be merely light passing through the leaves of the trees and branches of the park. It shone and glimmered at him from up high in the tall oak tree, and a 14 year old Kudo Shinichi knew that it couldn't be anything but glass.<p>

The brilliant detective paused, lowered his Sherlock Holmes' book just a tad bit lower and squinted up at the tree.

What was a glass bottle doing up there in an Oak tree?

He could only deduce that someone had intentionally placed it there for whatever mystifying reasons that Shinichi didn't know.

And truth to be told, he really couldn't be bothered. He'd really rather finish reading his Sherlock Holmes' book instead.

And so, Kudo Shinichi walked on, away from the glass bottle and away from the tall oak tree. After all, it would probably be gone by tomorrow.

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><p>But alas, it wasn't.<p>

In the subsequent days that he had to walk through the park, the glass bottle had remained untouched among the green leaves and crooked branches of the tall oak tree.

And he could confidently say that without his favourite Sherlock Holmes' book to distract him (he'd already finished reading it thrice), he was considerably curious about the glass bottle.

So, on the seventh day from when he'd first noticed the glass bottle, he decided to climb the tall oak tree and retrieve the glass bottle.

Needless to say, he was quite surprised to see a handwritten letter inside the glass bottle.

"How cliché," was his first thought. "I wonder what's written inside," was his second and things progressed from there.

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><p><em>Dear Whomever It May Concern<em>

_First of all, why an oak tree?_

_Second, why are you trying to make friends using such an unconventional method? It's the 21__st__ century. There's something called emails and online pen pals._

_Thirdly, you really shouldn't use a glass bottle. It nearly burned my eyes out reflecting the sunlight when I tried to look at it. _

_And as a side note, maybe you should reconsider giving away your address so easily. It's not very safe and I could be a serial killer._

_Yours Sincerely  
>K.S<em>

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><p>AN: Okay, so I haven't really written in over a year. Scratch that, I've not been writing at all lol because junior college sucks and a levels suck and my life is a mess. Well, personal matters aside, basically I had the urge to write Kaishin for a really long time now, just that I've never had the time to do it.

So my major exams just ended, today to be exact, and I managed to churn out this really short chapter. Hope you guys enjoy it heh.

And yeah, I'm really looking forward to their interaction using letters in the future chapters. ;)

On a side note, this whole thing is unbeta-ed. And the only editing that has been done is by me. So errors are highly likely, and it would be of great help if you'd tell me my mistakes with a review. If you don't spot any, do leave me one anyway cause they make me happy HAHAHAHAH

Signing off  
>MissParasol<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

Detective Conan & Magic Kaito

Title: Letters and Whatnots

Summary: At age 14, Kudo Shinichi finds a letter in a glass bottle hidden up in a large oak tree. 2 weeks later, Kuroba Kaito receives a letter in his mailbox from a stranger, and he's the happiest that he could have ever been.

Warnings: Kaishin and irregular updates and short chapters yeah. Nothing much basically.

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><p>Chapter 2<p>

He'd actually received a reply.

His letter in a bottle that was hidden in an oak tree had been found by someone, and that someone had actually bothered enough to reply.

Granted it took a total of two weeks; snail mail wasn't that slow. However, a reply was still a reply, no matter how slow it was.

And this made Kuroba Kaito the happiest he had been in a very long while.

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><p>He'd imagined his new pen pal to be like him; cheerful, upbeat and maybe even a little childish. Sociable, friendly and outgoing.<p>

So, it was understandable that Kuroba Kaito was just a little bit baffled at the fact that his pen pal's reply was no more than a quarter of a page long.

But that didn't matter; he'd loved his pen pal's reply. Even if it was ridiculously short.

His new pen pal (or only pen pal, for that matter) was as much humorous as he was snarky, and Kaito couldn't help but smile at the sarcastic undertones of the letter.

He clutched at the letter tightly, as if it was his prized trophy.

Sure, this person named K.S wasn't anything like what he'd expected, but Kaito wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

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><p><em>Dear K.S<em>

_Hi there, it's really nice to meet you!_

_To answer your questions, I chose an oak tree because it's the best spot to reflect sunlight! That's what dad used to tell me anyway, but it did grab your attention, right? And that was the reason I used a glass bottle, too._

_And well, isn't it more meaningful to use such a method to find a pen pal? It makes me think of fate and destiny because you were the one who stumbled across my glass bottle instead of any Tom, Dick or Harry._

_Also, thanks for your concern regarding my address and safety; but I would like to direct that advice back to you. What were you thinking, giving out your address to a random stranger who sends you a message in a bottle? I could be a serial killer, for all you know!_

_Anyway, putting jokes and interrogations aside, how about some self-introduction? I'll start first! (Thanks for replying me btw, I assume that's a yes to us being pen pals and you can't say no cause I have your address and I will find you)_

_I'm Kuroba Kaito, 14 years old, and I live in Ekoda (which you probably already know since I've given you my address and all). I like magic tricks, playing pranks on other people, and I hate fish. I'm an only child and I have a childhood friend named Nakamori Aoko, and she can be a real monster when she wants to. Do you have a childhood friend too? What's he/she like? I hope your childhood friend is nowhere near violent like my dear Aoko here, see, the mop is her best friend. Not me._

_Hmmm, what else is there to say? I guess there's really nothing much, since I'm basically talking to myself here (for now because I'm expecting a reply). Well, I guess that's it for now; I'll stop writing here._

_I'm really looking forward to your reply, as you can probably tell. Oh, and try to write longer letters. Really, one quarter of a page is simply not acceptable._

_Yours Sincerely  
>Kuroba Kaito<em>

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><p>AN: As of now, I'm actually done with chapter 3 but it was going in a direction that was different from what I had pictured in the beginning, so I might redo it. And chap 3's format is prolly going to be really different from the first two. Either Aoko or Ran's going to appear, and we'll see some interactions and dialogues instead of just me narrating feelings.

The letter thing is still probably going to stay there though, since it's the basis for this fic.

And once again, do forgive me if my writing is not up to standards. I'll try my best to improve hahaha.

Do drop a review!

Signing off  
>MissParasol<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

Detective Conan & Magic Kaito

Title: Letters and Whatnots

Summary: At age 14, Kudo Shinichi finds a letter in a glass bottle hidden up in a large oak tree. 2 weeks later, Kuroba Kaito receives a letter in his mailbox from a stranger, and he's the happiest that he could have ever been.

Warnings: Kaishin and irregular updates and short chapters yeah. Nothing much basically.

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><p>Chapter 3<p>

Shinichi stared at the parchment of paper, smeared with fine ink and illegible scrawls. Crumpled pieces of papers with blotches of black ink lay scattered across his tables and floor; and Shinichi could quite confidently say he had killed a forest while trying to write a reply to Kaito.

He never knew that writing a letter could be so arduous (especially because Kaito had boldly demanded for his reply to be longer than a quarter of a page).

He was a man of little words and had horrible social skills; he just wasn't cut out for this.

But Shinichi would rather burn the Kudo Mansion down than admit defeat to a meager letter.

So, Kudo Shinichi sat at his desk, frowning hard at the parchment of paper, and began penning his thoughts down (for the tenth time).

That was how a slow, but steady (and long lasting) friendship formed between the two eccentric individuals.

And Kudo Shinichi could never have asked for more.

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><p><em>One year later<em>

The ballroom light dimmed to a soft evening glow, accompanied by soothing classical music and cloudy wisps of smoke, signaling the end of the Magician's act.

A wave of applause followed, and Kuroba Kaito couldn't help but feel a sense of pride as he watched his father receive a standing ovation from the guests.

Nakamori Aoko smoothened out the crinkles in her cotton blue dress. "As usual, your dad's the best when it comes to these sort of things," she breathed, entranced by the performance Kuroba Toichi had pulled off just minutes ealier.

Kaito sniffed smugly, grinning at his childhood friend. "Obviously; my dad's the world's best magician! His shows are definitely _not _to be missed!"

Aoko only scoffed at Kaito's words. "Says the person who was writing a letter during the performance instead of paying attention. What's with you and letters, anyway? Who're you writing to?" Curiosity blazed in her eyes as she spoke, thinking of Kaito's recent obsessions with letter writing.

"Eh?" Kaito blinked, as he processed his childhood friend's sudden change in topic. Aoko only continued to stare at him with accusing eyes. "Well, it really can't be helped!" He pouted at Aoko's accusation. "Shinichi's just a really fun person to talk to!"

"So his name's Shinichi? What's his surname? And how old is he?"

"Kudo Shinichi, he's 15 this year," he automatically replied and groaned when he realized his slip-up. He watched in distaste as Aoko's lips curved up smugly. He'd kept Shinichi a secret for a whole year, and he certainly wasn't pleased that Aoko had managed to wrench it out of him so easily.

"You must really like him, huh, Kaito?" Aoko teasingly poked Kaito's sides, her eyes gleaming with mirth. "Or else you wouldn't keep writing to him for a year_and _keep it a secret from me."

Kaito felt heat rushing up to his neck and good lord, was he embarrassed. "And that's _exactly _why I didn't tell you! Shinichi's just really interesting for a guy… _ugh_. Aoko, I _told _you I don't swing that way! _He's just a friend! _Stop trying to _set me up_! That last guy you tried to set me up with—what's his name again, Retsu or something— didn't end well _at all _and that's because I'm as straight as—" Kaito stopped in his tracks with a stark realization that he had gone off in a very embarrassing rant (and that people were staring), and sighed. "Aoko, _seriously._"

Aoko still had that smug smirk on her face. "Yeah, keep telling yourself that, why don't you." She folded her arms and Kaito, from many years of experience, knew that the conversation was over.

Aoko was scheming something, and Kaito had no say in it.

But he really wasn't gay.

Really, he wasn't.

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><p><em>Dear Shinichi<em>

_Aoko's on another one of her schemes again; and this time I suggest you run for your life cause I accidentally spilled the beans._

_We were attending dad's performance and I happened to be writing a letter to you… Well, okay. Maybe not "happened to be" but I was writing my reply to you during the performance…_

_Which was stupid but that's beside the point._

_Aoko's still fully convinced that I'm 100% gay which I'm obviously not. I mean, look at how that time Aoko tried to set me up with this Retsu guy but it didn't work, as with all the other guys she tried to set me up with. She's never going to get it that I'm just not interested…_

_Anyway, I told you earlier that we were attending dad's performance right? It went amazingly well today too; he even got a standing ovation. _

_The tricks were the usual ones; I'll show them to you when I get a chance to. Be honoured that this great magician is willing to show you, for I'll be as famous as dad in the future, heh. _

_And before you call me an egoistic piece of shit (again), check your mailbox for another package. It's that limited edition detective book you've always wanted, personally signed by the author. Feeling thankful now? Heh, you have such a great friend, Kudo Shinichi._

_Alright, I guess I'll sign off here and let you drool over that book. _

_Oh, and one more thing…_

_Happy Birthday, Kudo Shinichi._

_Yours Sincerely  
>Kuroba Kaito<em>

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><p>AN: I'm still not really satisfied with how this turned out… But then again, the purpose of this fic was just to get me writing again so…

And yeah, there was a one year time skip from Shinichi's scene to Kaito's scene, sorry if that was confusing. But I had to get it moving… somehow.

So, as promised, there's actual conversation in this chapter, which I admit I might not be too good at. I'm still working on my dialogue skills lol.

Also, the thing about Aoko is that she thinks Kaito's gay (just like how she thinks Kaitou KID is gay) but Kaito isn't gay… for now ;)

Kaito and Shinichi should be meeting soon. Hmmm, maybe in the next chapter? *hint hint*

Oh, and the black org prolly won't be appearing in this fic and all, meaning that Toichi prolly wouldn't die. But Shinichi's still a hella good detective working with the Beika police taskforce and Kaito's still the cheeky magician we all love.

I'll be uploading this onto Ao3 as well so you can also find me there if you prefer Ao3's format.

And on a side note, Shinichi's birthday is on the 4th of May. So yeah, Kaito wrote the letter probably before April ended, seeing as how snail mail takes a week or so. Would you guys prefer it if I included dates in the letters for a better feel of the timeline? (I'm not even sure if anyone's reading this but I'll leave it as it is if you guys are fine with the way it is now)

Other than that (wow my a/n is half as long as the chapter itself), send any questions and I'll be glad to answer.

Thanks for reading! :)

Signing off  
>MissParasol<p> 


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